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HomePosts Tagged "Bayer" (Page 3)
Agrotech, Award, Company News, Start ups

FarmSense’s award-winning FlightSensor utilises patented technology, computational entomology, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and real-time analytics to improve insect monitoring and crop management efforts

Agtech startup FarmSense, announces that it has been awarded the top prize in Bayer’s global Grants4Tech Pest Monitor Challenge. The FarmSense team recently spent multiple days demonstrating the capabilities of their FlightSensor technology during the finalists’ event at Bayer’s headquarters in Germany. The panel of judges were impressed by FarmSense’s real-time pest monitoring technology and its promising potential to revolutionise pest monitoring efforts in commercial agriculture — resulting in the top prize of 10,000€ and possible future collaboration with Bayer.

Bayer described the goal of the competition as a search for “novel technologies to detect and identify above and/or below ground pests in crops at an early infestation stage, enabling an optimized application of crop protection solutions.” Finalists were scored on four categories: novelty of hardware design, sensitivity (spatial and temporal resolution), scalability (robustness, affordability, ease of use), and testability.

“FarmSense is honored to receive the top prize in the Bayer Grants4Tech Pest Monitor Challenge. Technological advances in real-time pest monitoring and classification, like FarmSense’s FlightSensor provides, are essential to support the continued growth of commercial agriculture in a sustainable manner. We are enthusiastic about the future of FarmSense,” said Dr Shailendra Singh, FarmSense co-founder and CTO.

FarmSense’s award-winning FlightSensor utilises patented technology, computational entomology, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and real-time analytics to improve insect monitoring and crop management efforts. The FlightSensor is a revolutionary step forward in pest management, saving growers time, labour and money, and reducing the need for pesticide use while improving crop yield.

FarmSense's award-winning FlightSensor utilises patented technology, computational

Agro chems – Chemicals, Agrotech, Company News, Europe, Finance, R&D

This is the company’s largest single investment in its Crop Protection business in Germany.

Bayer significantly strengthens its commitment to innovation in regenerative agriculture with a EUR 220 million investment in research and development (R&D) at its Monheim site. This is the company’s largest single investment in its Crop Protection business in Germany since the founding of the Monheim campus in 1979. The new Product Safety complex with labs, offices, and a greenhouse area offers space for approximately 200 employees. Its principal focus will be on developing the next generation of chemicals for a sustainable future and enhancing the environmental and human safety of Crop Protection. The new facility will boost Bayer’s efforts to become a major contributor to regenerative agriculture by developing and bringing to market new Crop Protection solutions which have even better environmental profiles than those currently available and will play a key role in significantly reducing agriculture’s impact on the environment.

“Looking into the future, we must radically transform today’s farming systems and switch to regenerative agriculture practices that produce more with less, while restoring more. There is a high demand for pushing beyond established standards in safety to unlock breakthrough innovation and Crop Protection solutions with better environmental profiles,” said Dr. Robert Reiter, Head of R&D at Bayer’s Crop Science Division.

The investment is also a clear commitment to Europe as a base of operations as well as one important cornerstone of Bayer’s Future Concept for Germany. “Even in times of economic uncertainty, we are laser-focused on innovation and future technologies,” Dirk Backhaus, Head of Product Supply at Crop Science, pointed out. “We have a long track record of investing into research, development, and production of safe chemical products for agriculture, and we’re eager to leverage our world class expertise in Germany to shape the future of regenerative agriculture here and around the world. The new facility at our Monheim site is a shining example of precisely that: Investments in future technologies, modern facilities, and, most importantly, our people.” Over the past three years, Bayer has invested EUR 180 million at its Dormagen site, with a focus on expanding production capacities for modern Crop Protection.

 The opportunity to invent better, climate neutral and environmentally benign Crop Protection products is huge and aims to strengthen Bayer’s global competitiveness. As such, this investment also reflects Bayer’s commitment to the innovative capacity of Germany and Europe. The anticipated construction period of the new Monheim facility will be around 3 years. Full commissioning is planned for 2026.

The new R&D facilities will be an important cornerstone of Bayer’s new innovation approach for Crop Protection. Already today, Bayer’s product portfolio ranks very well in terms of environmental impact. But the company is strongly committed to reducing it even further and pushing beyond established standards.

“With our new disruptive innovation approach – what we call CropKey – we are now designing molecules instead of selecting them,” said Rachel Rama, Head of Small Molecules at Crop Science. “This is based on a discovery concept which allows us to create solutions based on the predefined safety and sustainability profiles that go above and beyond current standards.” Data science, early safety screenings, modeling and artificial intelligence are crucial elements that enable our top scientists to create the next generation of Crop Protection, taking advantage of massive amounts of data and machine learning and setting a new benchmark. “With our investment in Monheim, we are now building a new data powerhouse in a high-tech work environment that will be highly attractive for our researchers and future top talents.”

The new innovation approach to Crop Protection is also clearly aligned with Bayer’s sustainability commitment to reduce the environmental impact of Crop Protection products by 30% by 2030.

This is the company’s largest single investment

Agrotech, Company News, Foodgrains, R&D, Sustainability

The Program in its first year aims to significantly scale up its coverage to 25,000 hectares of rice cultivation during the Kharif 2023 and Rabi 2023-24 seasons.

Bayer, a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of agriculture and healthcare, in collaboration with GenZero, a Temasek-owned investment platform company dedicated to accelerating decarbonization globally, Shell Energy India Private Limited, a subsidiary of Shell Plc and investor in nature-based solutions, and other experts, is pleased to announce their efforts to develop a robust model to showcase the scalability of methane emissions reduction in rice cultivation. The proposed approach will include training, support, and guidance for smallholder farmers while utilizing Measurement, Reporting & Verification (MRV) mechanisms incorporating remote sensing technology. The project aims to set a benchmark for similar efforts in the rice decarbonization space.

Bayer over the last two years has already done the necessary groundwork and initiated a pilot Sustainable Rice Project across India. It started with an aim to generate carbon reductions by encouraging rice farmers to switch from the current practice of transplanting with continuously flooding fields to Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) that involves controlled and intermittent flooding and Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) that involves no transplanting operations and very limited flooding.

With this collaboration in place, the Program in its first year aims to significantly scale up its coverage to 25,000 hectares of rice cultivation during the Kharif 2023 and Rabi 2023-24 seasons. Any success achieved during this first year will pave the way for the implementation of an even larger-scale sustainable rice project. Beyond greenhouse gas reduction, the program is expected to generate other benefits such as water savings, soil health improvement, and enhanced community livelihoods for smallholder rice farmers.

To ensure scientific accuracy and credibility, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), a globally renowned scientific institution, will provide valuable support in conducting scientific assessments of greenhouse gas reductions, water use reductions, and improvements in soil health.

Speaking about the program, Simon-Thorsten Wiebusch, Country Divisional Head, Crop Science Division of Bayer for India, Bangladesh & Sri Lanka said, “Bayer’s commitment to rice cultivation is two-fold. Through our focus on rice, we want to solve two of the biggest challenges impacting humanity, namely, food security and climate change. With this program, we aim to get more insights into how regenerative agricultural practices can contribute to mitigating climate change by way of methane emission reductions, water conservation, soil health improvements and drive sustainable development of smallholder farmers. Having the expertise and support of organizations like GenZero, Shell, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and others will go a long way in developing the ecosystem for faster adoption of such sustainable practices”.

Frederick Teo, CEO of GenZero, said, “ With this program, we aim to transform the future of rice cultivation by driving the adoption of alternative wetting and drying as well as direct seeding techniques across smallholder farmers in India. The aim is to reduce the amount of water required for farming across many water-stressed agricultural regions in India and reduce methane emissions arising from rice cultivation, supporting the transition of the agricultural industry towards a low-carbon future.

Flora Ji, Vice President Nature Based Solutions, Shell plc said, “Nature-based solutions, like this rice cultivation project, are an important additional tool in addressing climate change and contributing to sustainable development. We look forward to the outcome of this program to further strengthen capabilities and leverage novel technologies to deploy nature-based solutions at scale.”

Speaking about the collaborative initiative with Bayer, Dr. Ajay Kohli, Deputy Director General for Research, IRRI said, “Public-private partnerships are an effective way to transform food systems, leveraging the strengths and resources of both sectors to achieve common goals. Such partnerships in agricultural science can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of research and development. By combining the strengths and resources of both sectors, and also sharing knowledge and capacity-building, thus enhancing the overall productivity and sustainability of the agricultural sector.”

The Program in its first year aims

Agro Universities, Agrotech, Australia, Company News, Finance, R&D, Seeds

Research aims to produce plant seeds by selection from wild populations with characteristics suitable for commercial native grain production and food markets.

Native grasses hold excellent nutritional value such as fatty acids, but their potential as a food source and economically viable industry has not been investigated, until now. Bayer is proud to provide a $240,000 grant to the University of Sydney to investigate the untapped potential of native grains. 

As a life science company, Bayer is continually looking at innovative ways to support and strengthen underserved communities.  The three-year research program aims to grow the Indigenous native grain industry by revitalising traditional methods of using grains, investigating the use of plant selection to identify wild populations with suitable attributes for commercial grain production, and amplifying education and knowledge sharing among the local Kamilaroi and other First Nations communities. Importantly, the research program includes supporting an Indigenous trainee to increase skills base and support the emerging industry.

Research objectives

Specifically, the research objective is to produce plant seeds by selection from wild populations with characteristics suitable for commercial native grain production and food markets.

Desirable traits include high seed yield per hectare, low shattering, easy to harvest, easy to thresh, high thousand kernel weight, high protein (or other desirable nutrients), and compactness and uprightness in inflorescence.

This project is supported exclusively by a Bayer grant, and research conducted by The University of Sydney Plant Breeding Institute. If superior plant forms are identified, the Indigenous communities will have the rights to use, grow and commercialise these forms, as the IP for the future variety has already been signed over to the University of Sydney.

Research aims to produce plant seeds by

Agrotech, Company News, Horticulture, India

To create a collaborative ecosystem to unlock the potential of the horticulture segment.

Bayer, a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of agriculture and healthcare organized a National seminar “India Horticulture Future Forum 2023” yesterday, to deliberate upon the future of Indian Horticulture and nutrition security concerns that can be alleviated through the Fruits and Vegetables segment. In this one of its kind events, the spotlight was on the challenges, opportunities, and advancements of the segment from the lens of empowering the smallholders for better economic prospects. The event involved presentations as well as panel discussions on effective policies, schemes, implementation models, and programs aimed at boosting the sector’s competitiveness and growth. The event was attended by senior policymakers, regulators, researchers, academicians, subject matter experts, corporates from across the value chain and representatives of financial institutions and importing countries.

The India Horticulture Future Forum 2023 held insightful sessions with an India-centric perspective, discussing development opportunities in the sector. The event featured several engaging sessions, including “AgTech Revolution focusing on Horticulture,” “Fruits and Vegetables for Better Health and Nutrition,” “Export Opportunity for India in Horticulture,” and “Insights into Policy Developments and Key Regulations.”

All these key pillars were deliberated upon by the experts with the aim to create diverse workstreams to address the key concerns and opportunities for the sustainable growth of the segment. Grant Thornton Bharat LLP served as the Knowledge Partner for this event and will be facilitating these task forces along with Bayer.

In a special message read out during the event, Narendra Tomar,Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India said, “The country has today graduated from largely targeting food security issues to nutritional security issues. In this setting, horticulture production is the key to address both the challenges.”

Speaking at the conference, D Narain, President, South Asia, and Global Head of Smallholder Farming, said, “India will witness a threefold jump in demand and consumption of horticultural crops within the next decade apart from the opportunities associated with global exports. In this context, the India Horticulture Future Forum is an effort to create a collaborative ecosystem to fully harness the potential of the horticulture segment from a macro lens of nutritional security and national economic growth while at the grassroots level, positively impacting the incomes and livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers”.

Professor V. Padmanand, Partner, Grant Thornton LLP, said “Strengthening the horticulture value chain will involve interventions in the production, post-harvest and processing infrastructure and marketing and logistics space. Team Grant Thornton has been working extensively on these areas with the government, private stakeholders, farmers as well as global development partners. The need of the hour is to upscale best practices and models countrywide through synergized joint action.”

At the seminar, experts discussed urgent steps required to integrate and revamp the horticulture production and value chain system, promote healthier and more nutritious foods, and improve farmers’ income.

To create a collaborative ecosystem to unlock

Agrotech, Company News, Europe, Finance, Seeds

This investment includes a new seed dryer, state-of-the-art agricultural field equipment, storage facilities.

Bayer has revealed an investment of overall 60 million euros from 2023 onwards in its corn seed production facility Pochuiky, Ukraine. With this the life sciences company emphasizes its commitment to Ukraine and strengthens its Crop Science business in the country, contributing to rebuilding the economy. This investment includes a new seed dryer, state-of-the-art agricultural field equipment, storage facilities and the construction of two bomb shelters to ensure the safety of the Ukrainian colleagues who have been operating the facility and executing this investment project under very difficult circumstances.

Bayer’s Head of Public Affairs, Science and Sustainability Matthias Berninger said, “Our investment underscores our commitment which is in full alignment with our vision of ‘Health for all, hunger for none’ and reflects the critical importance of the country in the global food supply chain. We will do our part to support the rebuilding plan for Ukraine and protecting food security for the region and for the world.”

Berninger attended a small business delegation on a visit to Ukraine led by Robert Habeck, German Vice-Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. The delegation which also included Oliver Gierlichs, Managing Director of Bayer Ukraine, discussed Germany’s commitment to the country and its people as well as the possibilities of an economic partnership. It was the first business delegation of the German government in Ukraine since the beginning of the war.

Prior to the war, the company made a significant investment of close to 200 million euros to establish corn seed production through a network of skilled Ukrainian farmers and the greenfield seed processing site in Pochuiky. The plant was inaugurated in 2018 and operates with around 100 on-site employees and about 250 to 300 seasonal workers. Bayer, with its plant, is one of the biggest investors in the region. Its taxes comprise about 25% of the local community budget. Bayer is actively involved in solving social issues of the local community in the Pochuiky village by investing in the construction of a new road and the local hospital, as well as continuously supporting the local school, kindergarten and library.  Pochuiky site investment in line with overall efforts of Bayer to support Ukraine.

This investment includes a new seed dryer,

Agro Universities, Agrotech, India, R&D

 It aims to establish of a network of institutions and actors to advance seed and varietal development, adaptation, and accelerate the deployment of product concepts.

 The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Bayer agreed to support and co-invest in a four-year project “Scale Direct” that aims to accelerate the global efforts of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) on direct seeded rice (DSR) research and development for smallholder farmers in Asia and Africa. The Project got launched through a ceremonial event hosted at IRRI South Asia Regional Centre, Varanasi on 09 March 2023.

Underpinned by IRRI’s DSR research flagship, the project titled “Improving the quality of life of smallholder rice farmers in Asia and Africa through introduction, on-farm testing and scaling of improved germplasm and climate smart agronomy” and also named as “ScaleDirect” is a comprehensive integration of breeding specific varieties for DSR establishment methods, on-farm validations, DSR specific agronomic practices, and seed systems and enterprise development activities.

The global initiative’s core objectives include the 1) establishment of a network of institutions and actors to advance seed and varietal development, adaptation, and accelerate the deployment of product concepts, product varieties or hybrids, and required DSR market-suited traits, 2) introduction, validation, and scaling of climate-smart agronomic practices and technologies, 3) strengthening formal and informal seed production, delivery, and entrepreneurship for equitable, gender-inclusive access to climate-resilient products, and 4) an evidenced-based learning, feedback, and recommendation mechanism for experts and policymakers.

“Smallholder farmers are an integral part of the agriculture system and advancements in farming are key to their growth. We are elated to partner with USAID and IRRI to bring the latest innovation and Agri-focused technology to smallholders across the globe, building a better agriculture system and staying true to Bayer’s vision of ‘Science for better’ in agriculture,” said Simon-Thorsten Wiebusch, Country Divisional Head – Crop Science Division of Bayer for India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

USAID General Development Officer, Dr. Jim Gaffney lauds the project for its alignment with the US government’s Feed the Future Initiative to end hunger. He also expressed his optimism for the returns this investment will bring given its strong backing from multiple national agriculture research systems (NARS) partners, among other collaborating sectors.

“There is massive opportunity and learning in public, private, and community extension network collaborations. The diverse participation by various stakeholders in this launch is a clear manifestation of true public-private partnership. This collaboration rests upon a shared vision of making our farming systems more responsive to climate change impacts,” said IRRI Rice Breeding Innovations Platform leader, Dr. Hans Bhardwaj.

Resulting from co-conceptualization meetings between IRRI, Bayer, and USAID that began in 2022, the project is touted to help improve the environmental and socio-economic sustainability of rice production and lead to widespread adoption of DSR practices among smallholder farmers in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique.

IRRI Director General, Jean Balié stressed the importance of this synergy as well as the crucial role of the NARES partners in the timely and appropriate scaling of these interventions. “We cannot emphasize enough that we are committed to bringing new innovations to the forefront of rice systems. Furthermore, we are highly committed to ensuring that these technologies provide sustainable economic outcomes for our stakeholders. The shared goal is always to improve the lives of farmers.”

 It aims to establish of a network

Agrotech, Company News, Environment, Sustainability, Water, World

For shaping a water-resilient agriculture system with key contribution in rice.

 Bayer is launching its new water strategy at the UN 2023 Water Conference in New York. The company is making water an integral part of its business decisions, investments and selection of suppliers. Bayer’s water strategy reflects its position as a key player in the fields of health and agriculture and aims to have an impact that goes beyond the company’s own business.

“The world is facing a severe water crisis affecting ecosystems, food security and human health,” explains Bayer CEO Werner Baumann. “As a leader in health and nutrition we have an intrinsic motivation to address the water crisis and make a valuable contribution. With our global footprint and strong supplier engagements, Bayer will create value and encourage sector-wide action. Our ambition is to play a leading role in promoting corporate water stewardship and rallying other businesses to take action to protect the world’s water resources.”

Bayer’s commitments go beyond the company’s own operations and are reflecting its ambition to generate impact. The activities will encompass the entire value chain, from Bayer’s own operations to the farmers Bayer serves. Key elements of the water strategy are:

Resilient agriculture: On average, 70 per cent of global freshwater withdrawals are in agriculture. Bayer commits to driving positive change in water productivity in water scarce regional cropping systems, starting with rice, which is responsible for up to 43 per cent of the world’s irrigation water withdrawals. The company is committed to improving water use per kilogram of crop by 25 per cent by 2030, by transforming rice-cropping systems for smallholder customers in the relevant regions where Bayer operates. In addition, Bayer’s existing commitment of reducing the environmental impact of its crop protection portfolio by 30 per cent by 2030 also contributes to water quality.

Business and investment: Bayer is developing a concept to integrate water quality and quantity into business decisions and processes that will be rolled out from 2024 onwards. The company will develop a methodology to place a value on water and incorporate it into investment processes. Already in 2021, water and wastewater matters represented approx. 10 per cent of Bayer’s total CapEx projects.

Suppliers and growers: Bayer evaluates the sustainability performance of all key suppliers and of selected high-sustainability-risk suppliers using a sustainability risk classification that includes water. As an important step forward, Bayer has launched its new Supplier Code of Conduct, with dedicated items to address water and wastewater. At the same time the company will continue to drive improvements in water-use efficiency with growers across seed production.

“Until now, the topic of water has been overlooked in the climate debate despite the many interlinkages, but with the UN 2023 Water Conference it is gaining momentum. There are new opportunities to take the right sustainable actions, and we must seize these opportunities now. This is why we make water an integral part of our business and investment decisions across the entire value chain. With these decisions, we will contribute to climate resilience and to more sustainable water usage,” says Cristina Alonso Alija, Head of Sustainability, Safety, Health & Environment, and responsible for the water strategy at Bayer.

For shaping a water-resilient agriculture system with

Agrotech, Company News, Environment, North America, Sustainability

Provide the growers with the tools and knowledge to maximize yield and minimize environmental impact.

Tavant, Silicon Valley’s leading digital products and solutions company, announced a strategic partnership with Bayer, a global leader in agriculture solutions, to introduce innovative AgriTech solutions that will empower organizations to drive innovation and growers to optimize crop yields, reduce expenses, and minimize their environmental footprint.

“By developing pioneering solutions for transforming the way food is produced, distributed, and consumed, Tavant is poised to drive the agriculture industry forward and provide growers with the tools they need to succeed in a rapidly evolving market.”

“Innovation in digital agriculture is critical for achieving sustainable farming practices and ensuring adequate food supply. Data is often fragmented and challenging to access throughout the supply chain and developing digital solutions from scratch can be costly, but we are arriving at a very exciting moment in modern agriculture,” said Ines Kapphan, VP of Data & Cloud Solutions, Climate and Digital Farming, Bayer’s Crop Science Division. “Our work with Tavant provides innovators with readymade capabilities, so they can join Bayer and many other impactful companies in solving some of the world’s biggest challenges in agriculture.”

“Tavant is a strong proponent of innovation and digitalization in achieving sustainable yields and disrupting the farm to fork value chain. Over the past two decades, Tavant has invested significantly in developing sustainable and efficient farming practices. As a strategic system integrator for Bayer, Tavant is committed to helping growers achieve more with less and providing them with the tools and knowledge necessary to grow crops sustainably while enhancing their profitability,” said Vikas Khosla, Chief Revenue Officer, Hitech, Tavant.

“By developing pioneering solutions for transforming the way food is produced, distributed, and consumed, Tavant is poised to drive the agriculture industry forward and provide growers with the tools they need to succeed in a rapidly evolving market,” continued Khosla.

Provide the growers with the tools and

Company News, Sustainability, Vegetables, World

Luna Pro is a premium premix fungicide that provides both foliar and soilborne disease control in potatoes

Bayer announces Luna Pro fungicide. Luna Pro is a premium premix fungicide that provides both foliar and soilborne disease control in potatoes. The newest addition to the Bayer potato portfolio utilises prothioconazole, a DMI foliar fungicide, and fluopyram, an SDHI fungicide. DMIs work by hindering the growth of certain fungi on a cellular level, which helps to improve overall plant health and increase yield potential. Luna Pro is the first DMI-containing foliar fungicide offered by Bayer for potatoes.

The combination of two proven active ingredients, fluopyram (FRAC group 7) and prothioconazole (FRAC group 3) offers a strong defence against early blight, white mould and other key potato diseases. The addition of prothioconazole provides a second mode of action with rotational flexibility and increased resistance management. Luna Pro utilises a combination of systemic active ingredients that provides protection throughout the plant helping growers deliver excellent crops to market.

“Luna Pro is a powerful potato fungicide that helps growers fight against problematic diseases that threaten their yield potential,” says Ryan Allen, U.S. Product Manager – Fruit and Vegetable Fungicides and Biologics for Bayer. “We’re excited to add Luna Pro to the highly effective 75-Day IPM portfolio offered by Bayer as a new solution for potato growers.”

Luna Pro is a premium premix fungicide

Agrotech, Company News, India, IT, Sustainability

The new platform provides best-in-class digital infrastructure and ready-to-use agri-related capabilities from Bayer and breaks down data silos

Sonata Software, a leading Modernisation and Digital Engineering company has announced that it has been chosen as one of the TOP SI partners of the newly launched cloud solution developed by Bayer for the agri-food industry. With the required skills to implement the new cloud solution combined with its long-standing relationship with Microsoft, domain expertise and capabilities in data modernisation, Sonata Software is well-poised to accelerate its ability to bring new value and deliver outcomes-based, digitally enabled solutions to Agri customers globally. 

The one-of-a-kind B2B platform offers a cloud-based infrastructure and ready-to-use digital capabilities, available for businesses and organisations from start-ups to global enterprises to license and build on for their own internal or customer-facing digital solutions. It connects agricultural data and services, makes them accessible and drives traceability along the whole food production value chain.

The new platform provides best-in-class digital infrastructure and ready-to-use agri-related capabilities from Bayer and breaks down data silos. The platform supports an ecosystem where grocery producers can track sustainability data for agricultural produce, including the data in their digital processes and reporting and pass it on to their retail partners. This end-to-end traceability enables consumers to make more informed purchasing decisions based on origin. It thus has the potential to support sustainable agriculture and food production, ultimately benefiting companies, farmers, consumers and the planet.

The solution will benefit farmers seeking to track carbon emission and capture, track disease, pest and weed pressure, apply precision inputs, identify crop growth and production patterns, measure potential yield, and analyse heat stress impact, rainfall, hail and weather data.

“We are excited to be the Global SI partner for this Agri-Solution. Through our deep technical knowledge and long-standing experience in the agri-food industry, Sonata is well-positioned to help customers leverage the benefits of a one-of-a-kind B2B platform. We look forward to enabling businesses to drive greater efficiency and sustainability in their operations, ultimately benefiting the entire food production value chain,” said Rajsekhar Datta Roy, CTO, of Sonata Software.

“At Bayer, we are committed to addressing the global challenges of food security, and we believe technology can play a critical role in achieving this goal. The industry’s new cloud-based enterprise solutions, developed in partnership with Microsoft, harness the power of AI and analytics to enable more sustainable and efficient agriculture, accelerate speed to value for industry innovators, and provide farmers with better solutions and more options to connect with food and ag value chains,” said Ines Kapphan, VP Data & Cloud Solutions, Climate and Digital Farming, Bayer’s Crop Science Division.

The new platform provides best-in-class digital infrastructure

Agrotech, Company News, North America

Bayer and Microsoft provide ready-to-use capabilities available for businesses and organizations to license and use for their own internal or customer-facing digital solutions.

Following a 2021 strategic partnership announcement with Microsoft, Bayer launched new cloud-based solutions for the agri-food industry: AgPowered Services from Bayer in combination with the new Microsoft Azure Data Manager for Agriculture provide ready-to-use capabilities available for businesses and organizations from start-ups to global enterprises to license and use for their own internal or customer-facing digital solutions.

For example, companies that develop on-farm technologies can build on the new cloud infrastructure and core capabilities from Microsoft (Azure Data Manager for Agriculture) and license additional capabilities from Bayer (Bayer AgPowered Services) to build digital tools that support favorable agronomic outcomes for growers. Similarly, consumer goods companies can use the cloud offerings to build solutions that provide insight into nutrients, sustainability, and production practices to build trust with consumers, stakeholders and investors.

Azure Data Manager for Agriculture combines decades of Bayer’s agricultural expertise with Microsoft’s cloud solutions, advancing the industry through readymade capabilities and robust infrastructure that allow innovators to focus on differentiated value. After initial preview starting today allowing for customer exploration of both the Azure Data Manager and AgPowered Services, full commercial availability will be announced at a later date.

“Only innovation can ensure global food security while protecting the planet. Modern agriculture and food production generate a tremendous amount of valuable data that can drive productivity and sustainability,” said Dr Robert Reiter, Head of R&D for Bayer’s Crop Science Division. “However, this data is often disconnected, not useable throughout the value chain, and the costs to build digital solutions from scratch are high. Our new cloud-based solutions help overcome these challenges. Customers can use the infrastructure and capabilities to build their own digital solutions and products on top of the most robust collection of ag data in the world.”

These cloud offerings also support an ecosystem that allows for greater transparency along the whole food production value chain. This transparency, enabled through end-to-end interoperability, would make it easier for consumer goods companies to partner with growers based on how crops are raised and help consumers make more informed purchasing decisions based on origin practices. The potential to support sustainable agriculture and food production can ultimately benefit companies, farmers, consumers, and the planet.

Solutions built on Azure Data Manager can benefit farmers seeking to track disease, pest and weed pressure, apply precision inputs, identify crop growth and production patterns, measure potential yield, track and capture carbon emissions, and analyze heat stress impact, rainfall, hail and weather data. In addition to bringing the first AgPowered Services to the cloud offering, Bayer is using capabilities from Azure Data Manager to power insights in FieldView.

Using these cloud-based enterprise solutions, value chain partners will be able to apply insights into supply projections, sustainable sourcing, and ESG reporting. They will also be able to meet quickly changing consumer preferences for fresh, high-quality ingredients with data driven insights that allow for optimization of harvest, transport, and ripening processes as well as advanced traceability of food ingredients.

“This is an important step towards accelerating the impact of big data and agriculture. With high-quality data fueling insights, we expect to see a value chain that is more predictable, more transparent, and importantly, where value is shared all the way back to producers,” said Jeremy Williams, Head of Climate and Digital Farming at Bayer’s Crop Science Division.

Bayer and Microsoft provide ready-to-use capabilities available

Company News, Foodgrains, Sustainability, World

The Nutrient Gap Initiative aims to improve access to essential nutrients for 50 million people by 2030

Bayer announces the expansion of one of its signature sustainability programs, the Nutrient Gap Initiative, to now improve access to both nutritious food and safety net supplementation.  The program initially aimed to expand access to essential vitamins and minerals to 50 million people in underserved communities by 2030, with a focus on nutritional supplementation, a critical tool to build a safety net for malnutrition in these communities. On the occasion of the initiative’s second anniversary, the company is evolving the program to also help close the nutrient gap through the most fundamental source: food, namely fruits, vegetables and grains. 

“As a global leader in both agriculture and nutritional supplements, Bayer is uniquely positioned to help all people get access to proper nutrition. The roots of malnutrition are complex and far from one-size-fits-all, so we’re drawing on competencies from across our company to fight it. We want to remove the barriers to a healthy diet for those who need it most,” said Heiko Schipper, President of the Consumer Health Division of Bayer AG and Member of the Board of Management.

“For people in underserved communities, access to nutritious food is a challenge due to the cost and local availability of fresh produce and grains. As part of our critical work for food security and smallholder farmers, The Nutrient Gap Initiative will help improve the livelihoods of people who do not have access to vitamins and minerals, leveraging also our Better Life Farming Centres,” said Rodrigo Santos, President of the Crop Science Division of Bayer AG and Member of the Board of Management. 

Smallholder farmers are the backbone of many food systems, but their communities are often suffering from malnutrition and a lack of health services. Building on the existing strong infrastructure of the Better Life Farming centres, smallholder farmers will become a key audience for The Nutrient Gap Initiative. The Better Life Farming Centres, predominantly in Asia Pacific, provide smallholders in remote rural regions access to essential agricultural products, a key pillar of Bayer’s Smallholder Initiative which aims to impact 100 million smallholders in low-and-middle-income countries by 2030. Bayer will pilot the expansion of services offered with access to nutritional solutions and education given that food security cannot be achieved without health equity.

The Nutrient Gap Initiative aims to improve

Agrotech, Company News, India, Supply Chain

Partnership aims to provide Indian farmers with access to premium products and solutions via a unified platform.

Bayer, a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of agriculture and healthcare, has entered a Memorandum of Understanding with WayCool, one of India’s largest Food and Agritech companies, as a strategic partner to deliver end-to-end holistic solutions to smallholder farmers in India. The strategic collaboration aims to provide Indian farmers with access to premium products and solutions via a unified platform and personalized advice, with the goal of establishing and implementing a sustainable crop production model. Through Bayer’s Better Life Farming Centers and Farmer Producer Organisations, smallholder farmers will be able to access timely crop advisory, transfer of good agricultural practices and WayCool’s full stack services.

The collaboration between Bayer and WayCool aims to expand their network of farmer partners and facilitate the establishment and implementation of a sustainable crop production model. By providing customized services at the Better Life Farming Centers, the partnership will bring economic benefits to all stakeholders and enable farmers to achieve optimal price realization of their output. It represents a strategic alliance to create a sustainable and prosperous future for farmers in India.

Bayer and WayCool have identified three key focus areas to support the farming community in India through their strategic collaboration. The first is a phydigital platform that offers one-stop solutions, the second is the economic benefits derived from the Food Value Chain partnership, and the third is the use of Bayer’s Better Life Farming Centers and Farmer Producer Organisations. WayCool’s farmer engagement business arm, “Outgrow,” will leverage a digital application to provide farmers with solutions and services, while the on-ground network will be mobilized through WayCool’s Outgrow Network Partners across Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, as well as Bayer’s Better Life Farming Centers across the country. Further, WayCool will provide market linkages to help smallholder farmers get better prices for their produce.

Speaking on the partnership, Simon-Thorsten Wiebusch, Country Divisional Head – Crop Science Division of Bayer for India, Bangladesh & Sri Lanka, said, “Digitization of the complete value chain is a key enabler of advancing agriculture in India and a primary goal of the Crop Science Division at Bayer. To be able to offer these services to an expanded smallholder farmer base across the country and delivering greater value to them through a capable partner like WayCool will only bring us a step closer to this critical objective.”

Commenting on the MoU, Sanjay Dasari, Co-founder, WayCool, said, “As India progresses towards climate-smart agriculture, and achieving food security, the problem of rising temperatures and pest infestation is a significant challenge for farmers today in crop cultivation. This often leads to a loss in yield and productivity. Recognizing this pain point, we are extremely happy to partner with Bayer and aid the Indian farming community in this fight. Together we hope to support the creation of efficient and climate resistant food ecosystems, in line with our vision to transform the food-supply chain from farm to fork.”

Partnership aims to provide Indian farmers with